Validation

It's about time . I made a couple of cards. Yesterday, I was feeling tapped out as a mom, student, wife, etc., and realizing that I needed some alone time. Some creative time. Re-creation. So, while Amanda was at her violin lesson, I went to a scrapbooking store I had never gone to before. It was deliciously full of cool paper. Paper I can't resist. I bought several sheets. Then, today, I made some cards. I got so into it, I almost blocked out the incessant violin practicing, the crying, whining and dog barking. It was pretty good therapy. Here's my handiwork: What neato paper that brown stuff is. It has a little hint of teal, so I used the teal for a background. I punched out teal circles to back the white eyelets in the center of the flowers. I happened to have a perfect tag to match everything, and I stamped "for you" on it. This card has a similar style to the last one. It was inspired by a style in the Paper Crafts magazine. I love pink and brown. Oh yeah. I...

I bet you're wondering: any barking dogs this morning? Nope!

I have awakened to the incessant barking of our new neighbors dogs, that she so intelligently leaves outside from the early morning hours until she returns home from work in the afternoon. I have heard neighbors yelling at the dogs, so I'm hoping someone calls the sheriff. I, myself have drafted a letter, and will be putting it on their door. I'm hoping to give them a chance to take care of it themselves, without having to resort to calling the sheriff. I'm an action person. I know that most of these neighbors will quietly stew about the dogs, and do nothing, even though they have been awakened at 4:30 in the morning. I don't understand people who don't take action on things. I think it's quite wimpy. If something bothers you, do something about it! Just fix it. I guess some people would rather "keep the peace" or not come across as "mean." I say, that's avoiding conflict at your own expense! What are you trying to keep the peac...

Man - I bared my soul a little in that last post, and it's left me feeling a little naked. I'm gonna go get my bathrobe....

Many moons ago, Joe and I served as part-time staff at a church in San Diego. We ran a Sunday morning service for junior highers - worship, games, message - the works. Our pastor (who hired us) was brand new to our church, and went about transforming it into a more seeker-friendly, healthier place. He taught us so much about what a healthy church is. We were being primed to come on board full-time. Working with he and his wife changed our lives to the point that we were ready to make that jump. However, the denomination was not taking care of our pastor. He came to a church that was massively in debt, and the denomination had promised to help him. But, they didn't follow through on their promise. The church had sprouted from under 100 to almost 500 in only 18 months, with over 100 people accepting Christ. Even with all of the growth and people coming to the Lord, there was a small group of old-timers (this was a 50-year-old church) who didn't like change. They were vocal a...

This is where!! My preppy husband and me in front of our hotel, overlooking San Diego. View from our hotel balcony at the Hilton. Sea World was all about getting wet. Our first ride was the Atlantis, in which we got very wet. Then, we went to the dolphin show and sat in the "soak zone." So much for doing my hair!! After that, we went to a 4-D theater experience, where we got even more wet! The grand finale was the river rapids ride (see below). Joe and the kids got completely soaked on the river rapids ride. I enjoyed a warm churro and iced tea during their adventure (I'm so smart!) During our second day at Sea World, we purchased fish to feed and pet the dolphins during a special feeding time - it was SO cool!! Even I got to touch one! It made me tear up, it was so special to interact with them... We got to touch the dolphins!! The fam at Mission Beach. A wonderful man from New York took this picture. We talked for a few minutes, and when he realized Joe was a retired s...

The boys tried to go to the drag races yesterday, and it got rained out. My poor husband, he was so disappointed! I felt so bad for him - it's the beginning of his vacation, and he was looking forward to some guy stuff....They said his ticket would be good for next year, but that's not quite an adequate consolation.... :( Then, last night, Benny was listening to his VBS CD, while I was in his room packing for our trip. A slow song came on, and he said, "I'm sad that VBS is over." I said, "You are?" He nodded, and gave me this long look. He sat down for a minute, and then ran over to me, crying, hugging me. It made me cry! It was a sweet, sad moment... Today, we're going down to hear Amanda's youth symphony concert. It is the big concert at the end of their week-long camp. Their focus is American music this time, which will be so nice, after all the boring French music last year. They're even going to play a West Side Story medl...

What the heck?! It's still raining. What a summer. School got out at the very end of June, the sun finally started coming out around the first of July, and now it's raining again!! All I can say is: San Diego here I come!! Sometimes I really wish we still lived there. Anyway, today is Benny's last day of "Vacation Bible School." He has had a great time, and comes home with stories and singing songs. I bought him a music CD of all the songs, and he's been listening to it a lot. I love it. I love hearing him talk and sing about the Lord. What a blessing to my heart... We went down to Amanda's symphony camp to see her in a chamber recital. She was principal of the 2nd violins, which was very special for her. They played a piece by a Northwest composer by the name of Jivonnis (sp?). What awesome music. The conductor described it as "mesmerizing" music, with which you sort of leave your body, and once the piece is finished, you find yo...

It's raining steadily this morning. My skin is a little annoyed to have long sleeves and capris on, after so many days of bare arms and shorts. A day like this, after so many sunny ones, puts me in a funny mood. The windows are all open in the house, because it's warm. But, it's dark, so I had to turn the light on to have my latte and look at a magazine. Joe is always good about grabbing a magazine he thinks I'll enjoy, left by some traveller on one of the airplanes.... Anyway, my house is very quiet, as I already dropped Benny off at VBS, Amanda is still at symphony camp, Mel is sleeping in and Joe has gone to bed. I'm listening to the forgotten, metallic, dripping sound of the water trickling down the gutters and the softer, slower, drip, drip, drip coming off the patio umbrella and trees.....I feel drawn to go sit outside, but I know I would get all wet........

I think it was Bill Hybels who said that the church "is the hope of the world." I believe this. In talking about my negative experiences, I certainly don't want to give someone another reason not to go. Go! Choose church! Just go find a healthy one. There is no perfect one, but there are healthy ones. First, find one that sticks to the Bible and teaches it's truths. Then, make sure it's a place where loving people and loving God are priority. I have a passion for church. I have sometimes dreamt about being in full-time ministry. What I bring to the table on this blog, are my experiences with burnout and the subsequent leaving a church. I express my thoughts about the things I think need improvement in organized churches today. I don't think it's a bad thing to expose these things to the light. And, I certainly am not attacking the church. In fact, I have a righteous anger in defense of the church. I want to see the church being everything it should be...

When teenagers borrow your camera, they get very creative and quite silly.....These are the things I have saved all over my computer.... Which one is Melanie and which one is Amanda? This reminds me a little of a Mary-Kate and Ashley pose.... There's a whole string of these - pretty funny... They are quite cute, if I do say so myself....

I took Benny to a VBS today - I'm so happy for him and the fun he will have. I happened to see a couple of people from my old church. One of them didn't stop to talk much with me. The other talked with me for awhile. I like those people. People who can still be my friend even though we don't go to the same church anymore. On the fourth of July, we saw another couple. The man of this couple, greeted us warmly. The woman of the couple didn't. She wouldn't come over to say hello to me. This person was someone I considered a good friend of mine. I felt like I did a lot for her - encouraged her as a leader, promoted her as a speaker and babysat her children. When we left our old church, I emailed her a few times to check in, in order to say "Hey - I still want to be your friend." She dropped off the face of the earth. So, in a way, I wasn't surprised she didn't acknowlege me. It still kind of hurt, though. I didn't go to her on the fourth of July, b...

I can't believe it. I googled "church burnout," and found a soon-to-be-published book, called "Mad Church Disease." It's so coincidental that I just wrote a post to help anyone going through church burnout, and I find this! I can't really put into words what this means to me. I've known deep in my heart what I experienced was real and specific to my previous church experience, and now this is being confirmed!! I posted a link to this book's website where there are many testimonies left by other church burnout survivors. PLEASE click on this link and check it out!

I think my brain is swollen. Even my son came upstairs, took one look at me and said "You look worse." I said, "What looks worse?" He said, "Your face - it's swollen." I said, "No, my brain is swollen." Today, I took my oldest daughter to her symphony music camp, and the traffic going back and forth really sucked. It took forever. I think that contributed to my swollen brain. Then, I got home and tried working through my second Physics packet. I don't think this whole, "self-paced" thing is working for me. I read things over and over and over and over and over again, and only make small progress in understanding what the heck it is talking about. I know what I'm in for now. I will need to go get some serious tutoring to get through this. At least the tutoring is free, but I will have to go the other college campus, which is a half hour drive....More swollen brain... Thank you for your prayers. Well, only one pe...

Are you searching the internet to find out what's wrong with you? Are you wondering if you are experiencing some sort of burnout? Are you disillusioned with church? Do you love God, but are ready to give up on church? You are not alone. Over a year ago, I too, went searching the internet for anyone who had ever felt like I did. I had never experienced anything like burnout before, but I knew in my heart it was something specific to my church experience. I found a website and learned that there is such a thing as "church burnout." Just reading that my feelings had a name, brought unusual relief. The website I found was http://www.smolderingwickministries.org/ . At this site, there are a variety of helpful articles explaining the signs and symptoms of church burnout, among many others. I would love to share my story with you if that would be helpful. You can email me at jodivalidation@yahoo.com , and I will email it to you. I am still in process, but I have found lots of he...

I woke up to the rolling thunder this morning. Kinda cool. I hope that means we'll have a cooler day. It's been so hot! I've had a wonderful couple of days, just relaxing with my husband and family, taking walks and chilling on our patio. The other night, we sat out and watched the stars, and looked for satellites. Mel and Joe (my brother who has been back with us for a couple more days), fell asleep outside and we let them sleep there. My Joe (the husband one) and I had a glass of Chardonnay and talked. It always feels good to me when we just stop the rat race, and chill together for no reason (like we're on vacation)..... I took my first Physics test yesterday, which I didn't do well on. It's an intro to Physics class, where I will work through three packets at my pace, and go into the school to take a test on each one. Not too bad, but Physics is hard. I can't believe I'm even doing this. Me! Physics! Anyway, this is the only class I ha...

I'm still doing my Bible reading, I just haven't posted lately because I was starting to bore myself, so surely I was boring you! Anyway, I'm still enjoying the Bible reading very much. I'm in 1 Samuel right now. There was a very funny part (to me), where God told Samuel that Saul would be Israel's first king. So, when all the people were gathered together to present Saul, they couldn't find him because he was hiding under something. They pulled him out, and still announced: here is your new king! Everyone cheered. How funny is that?! Here, he was obviously hiding (he knew he was going to be announced as king), yet they still presented him with a big announcement and everyone was still excited. Didn't anyone ask: what kind of a king are we getting that hides under some baggage? What does this say for our future? Haha!! On another note, I'm going through some stuff. Sometimes I feel like I have the tenacity of Simba on the Lion King, who says "HA HA ...

I went to an Al-Anon meeting with my friend. Her life has been completely changed through AA and Al-Anon, so she's been bugging me to go with her for a long time. I met this gal about 4 years ago through church, and feel privileged to have watched her go from questioning whether following Christ was for her, to the Christ-follower she now is. She also stopped drinking, and is three years sober. It's pretty awesome. She tells me that a lot of where she is today, is because of me. It makes me cry. I remember, as her small group leader, not being able to sleep sometimes, because of the "mother hen" feelings I had for her. I was very protective of what was said in our small group, because I didn't want to confuse her, and I wanted everything to be simplified for her. There were people (mostly Christians who were further along in their walk) who would say the stupidest things in that group, and I wanted to go slap them for causing these baby/seeker Christians...

My 13-year-old brother has been staying with us for the past two nights and the kids have been having fun together. It started off with the fireworks show in Orting, which was awesome. Once we got home, I think the kids stayed up until the wee hours of the morning....They have been good at finding entertainment. They've been watching DVD's of "The Office," swimming in our pool, playing games and watching silly videos on the computer. And, eating A LOT. Yesterday, I took the kids to the lake - it was so HOT!! Melanie, Joe and Ben trying to catch baby fish. Melanie and Joe almost look like twins! My brother, Joe (also my husband's name)... Melanie staying cool.... Amanda getting sunburned... Ben getting warm, after realizing how cold the water was... Ben got serious about digging a very deep hole in the sand. He said that on the show "Dirty Jobs," he saw a guy dig very deep and find a catfish. So, that's what he wanted to do. :) Melanie and Josep...

Hey-Happy Fourth of July! The garbage man woke me up this morning, as I made my mad dash to get our garbage out. I thought he wasn't coming today! After that, I made my beloved latte and watched my sprinkler in the backyard. Of course, I had to check the blogs I read, and I always get so excited when there is something new to read and see. It's funny how I care about these gals, and only correspond through their blogs. There are some people I truly like and admire, and wish to spend more time with, but circumstances don't allow it. It's weird. I guess we'll all have to hang out when we get to Heaven.... Tonight, we're going down to Orting to see the fireworks show. It's kind of a tradition! They put on a fabulous show for a small town, I tell ya. It's awesome! And, this time, my husband is off, and my girls aren't away at camp, so I get to go with my whole family!! My sister might even meet us down there with my little brother. She wen...

Yes!! I got a lot of planting done today!! I'll have to post some pics tomorrow. It feels good to have my body a little sore and tired at the end of the day. I got so HOT, though! I finally slapped my swimsuit on and hopped in the kids' pool. It was like ICE! It felt pretty, darn good. Then, I stayed in my suit the rest of the day. I BBQ'd in it, cleaned in it, etc. When my girls wanted to go to the mall, I said "OK. I'm going to wear my swimsuit!" I love to embarass them. No, I didn't wear my swimsuit to the mall, but I have it on right now while I'm typing this! hee hee.... I kinda feel like a little kid wearing my swimsuit around, but it's fun! I look like a flabby, out of shape, almost 37 year-old, but it's fun. :) And no, I will not be posting a pic of that .

Here's Mel with her youth leader, Laura. Laura has been Mel's small group leader, as well as a "Master's Commission" student at our church. (Master's Commission is a one-year program where college-aged students volunteer their time at the church, live in host homes, while being mentored and trained. They also get college credit.) Laura will be getting married this Fall, and Melanie is going to miss her.....

Convo 1: My family and I ate dinner out on our patio tonight. During dinner, my daughter said something about the kids she would have one day, and I said what kind of grandma I was going to be. Then, Ben said, "When I'm a Dad, I'm going to take my kids to the park every day." I asked "Well aren't you going to go to work?" Ben said "No." "How are you going to get money for your family?" I asked. "Go to the bank," he said. HAHAHAHA!! Convo 2: Earlier today, I picked up one of Amanda's guy friends to take them to their "devos" (devotionals) they do on almost a daily basis at various coffee shops around town. They were talking about how this guy friend left a voicemail on another friend's cell phone. Here's the message: "Does it bother you that half the people we know are going to Hell?" Let that one sink in. Convo 3: Melanie and I were driving in the car, and we were talking abou...

I've decided that when you have kids, there are days when it seems like you've been doing a lot of nothing. That happened to me yesterday. My feet were killing me from walking and standing all day, but I felt like I got nothing accomplished. I had great plans, but they never got anywhere. I think it all started with my trip to Lowe's. I hate Lowe's. I had a $40 gift card there, so I wanted to buy the things I needed to do some yardwork. But, their plants suck. So, I wasted a ton of time trying to pick through their plants to find something decent. Then, I waited in line forever! It just kinda took the wind out of my sails. I had wanted to hit 3-4 different stores, but by the time I got outa Lowe's, Ben was hungry for lunch and so was I. We came home, ate, and then it just seemed like I couldn't get to my yardwork. Kids wanted to be driven here and there, and then they wanted to swim in the pool. I wanted to let them swim, since we just got it set up...